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Meet Some of the Lucky(?) People Shortlisted for a One-Way Trip to Mars

Applicants who missed out on this selection round but who are still bent on living out their final days 140 million miles away can reapply in the future

You Switch Between Devices 21 Times Every Hour

Right now, you’re probably using your computer and phone, and perhaps a television, an iPad, and if you’re really fancy a smart watch

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Copyright Law Kept These Famous Works From Entering the Public Domain This Year

Here is a list of books, movies, music & scientific research that would have entered the public domain today had the 1978 copyright law not been passed

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Meet the People Who Stole From the FBI—After 43 Years, They’ve Decided To Come Forward

In 1971 eight activists stole documents that unveiled a secret FBI campaign to squash dissidents

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Just Because Farmers Grow Fresh Produce Doesn’t Mean They’re Eating It

Without the help of a farm wife (or husband) who can take responsibility for running the household’s kitchen, farmers often subsist on processed snacks

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This K’Nex Machine Is 23 Feet Tall And Has Over 100,000 Pieces

Inside, there are two lifts, three motors, eight paths, a 20 foot free-fall and more

Courtesy of Flickr user

From 2004 to 2010, the Number of Injuries From Walking in Telephone Poles Almost Tripled

Stop walking and using your smart phone at the same time.

Dinosaur Poop Is Harder to Find Than It Should Be

Why don’t archaeologists find fossilized poop all over the place? In a word: roaches

People Pirated Many More Files (And Many Fewer Ships) in 2013

While there were zero Somali pirate hijackings this year - the amount of content that was uploaded to The Pirate Bay this year increased by 50 percent

Downed trees litter the street during a recent ice storm in Toronto.

A Loud Crack on a Cold Winter Night? It Might Have Been a Frost Quake

Frost quakes can cause a sound like a sonic boom

Deep fried butter on a stick

Long Before Paula Deen’s Fried Butter Balls, Cooks Were Trying to Roast Butter on a Stick

Paula Deen may in fact come from a long culinary tradition of skipping the bread and simply eating the butter

Frozen bubbles

How to Make Awesome Frozen Soap Bubbles Without Having to Brave the Cold

Frozen soap bubbles are really cool looking. But going outside to make them means braving the cold. Here’s how to make them at home

A resolution-themed postcard from 1909.

This Site Provides a Supportive Audience For Your New Year’s Resolution

The site has sponsored projects ranging from losing weight to building a race car

A memorial to the Irish famine in Dublin.

160 Years Later, Scientists Grow a GM Potato That Could Have Prevented the Irish Potato Famine

Genetically modified potatoes resistant to potato blight were designed in Ireland

The World’s Third Oldest Bible, the Codex Washingtonianus, Is Making a Rare Museum Appearance

When the Codex was first published publicly in 1912, it caused a controversy because it contained an extra passage in the Gospel of Mark

Your Probability of Dying Doubles Every Eight Years

It’s a brand new year, and the chances that this one will be your last might be higher than you suspect

London’s Looking at Building Bike Lanes in the Sky

The dedicated bike lanes could improve some commuter’s trips by nearly 30 minutes

Playing Q-bert on the Atari 2600 through the Internet Archive’s Console Living Room.

Play Through the History of Video Games (Frogger! Asteroids! Q-bert!) All on One Site

From Frogger to Asteroids to Turtles!, play through the early days of video gaming

Futurists Once Dreamed of Submarine Helicopters And Spaceships Powered by Swans

The ships that we’ve dreamed up tell us a lot about just how badly humans have wanted to travel beyond our own world

Central Park’s Horse-Drawn Carriages Could Be Replaced With Old-Timey Electric Cars

Demand for horse-drawn rides has reportedly spiked as tourists and locals alike rush in for a chance to take one last buggy ride through the park

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